At 4:30 a.m., the first Americans lost their lives to the big red machine. The British army was marching on Lexington and Concord to seize weapons and ammunition stored there. It marched over the dead in Lexington, then were harassed and killed all the way back to Boston. Patriots from surrounding towns and counties raced to take on the British who had killed their brethren.
Over the next decade, many died defending this country that might never exist. In fact, the odds of winning against the greatest military power of their age were dismal. They risked all anyway, just on the off chance that something new and wonderful might result. They fought and died for an idea.
